GradCast

#BookCast 5 | Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi

For our fifth installment of our book club series, the #BookCast team read Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi.  Join us for a discussion led by Garth Casbourn with co-hosts Meghan Voll, Riya Sidhu, and Scott Walters. 

We dive into the complex narrative of Gifty, a young scientist getting her PhD at Stanford, attempting to discover secrets behind addictive behavior. This story is one of grief, hope, childhood trauma, conflicts between faith and science, and racism and immigration in North America.

We'll cover many of the books themes and writing devices, its approach at describing science and graduate student life, and talk about the challenges faced by the protagonist both in the lab and her difficult past.

ADVISORY: This book has themes of addiction and overdose that are central to the story. In the second part of our conversation, we dive into these topics. Some listeners may wish to either avoid or prepare for this portion of our episode.

Airing October 31th at 11 AM on Radio Western.

Recorded on October 2, 2024

Produced by Scott Walters

Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ Produced by White Hot

480 | A Symphony of Music Making, Education and Disability

This week, hosts Mark Ambrogio and Ryan Baxter are joined by Lauren Jarman, a Masters of Music Education Candidate in the Don Wright Faculty of Music. Her research is focused on the impact of policy, globalization and neoliberalism and how it affects students with disabilities through a windband pedagogy. Lauren explores how AI and technology enable learning for musicians and how it can improve student and teacher experience. She also talks about her involvement in student government and her own experiences with disability as a student.

Recorded on October 15, 2024

Produced by Maria Khan

Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ (Produced by White Hot)

 

479 | Black Paint on a Black Canvas

Hosts Anthony Cruz and Meghan Voll are joined by Emiko Muraki, a PhD candidate with the University of Calgary, and a visiting PhD student at Western University. Emiko studies how context and differences between people affect how we learn and use concepts, and understand language. She also studied people with aphantasia, who can't form mental images, and found that they may still engage in sensorimotor simulation during semantic processing, even if they lack conscious, voluntary imagery.

 

 

Recorded on October 8, 2024.

Produced by Bruno Mesquita.

Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ (Produced by White Hot).

478| China's Rap Evolution: From Underground to Mainstream

Hosts Mark Ambrogio and Meghan Voll are joined by Shengpei (Leslie) Li, a Ph.D. student in Media Studies. Leslie discusses his research on rap music in China and the politics surrounding it.

Recorded on October 1, 2024.

Produced by Riya Sidhu

Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ (Produced by White Hot).

477 | Music, Memory & Media (Libby’s version)

Hosts Mark Ambrogio and Ryan Baxter are joined by Elisabeth (Libby) Roberts, a Ph.D. candidate in the music cognition specialization at the University of Western Ontario, Don Wright Faculty of Music. Libby discusses her research in music-evoked autobiographical memory and how she combines methods from behavioural sciences, sociology, and music theory. She discusses how social media, a space of interaction, memory, and, importantly, hearing and playing music, influences the way we remember popular music.

Check out Libby’s research, composition and performances here!

Recorded on September 24, 2024.

Produced by Maria Khan

Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ (Produced by White Hot).

#TheScoopOnSOGS | Vice-President Advocacy (Jasmine Proctor)

In this installment of the three-part #TheScoopOnSOGS miniseries, host Liam Clifford is joined by Jasmine Proctor, a PhD Student in Western's Faculty of Information and Media Studies who currently serves as the Vice-President Advocacy at the Society of Graduate Students (SOGS). Listen to this episode to learn about Jasmine's research, background, and roles at SOGS, as well as what she enjoys about being a student leader.

Recorded on September 10, 2024.

Produced by Anthony Cruz.

Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ (Produced by White Hot).

476 | Ashar’s Cosmic Storytelling Corner

This week, hosts Maris Schneider and Garth Casbourn are joined by writer, curator and visual culture PhD candidate at the Department of Visual Arts, Ashar Mobeen. Ashar studies ancient and indigenous civilizations and the manifestation of astronomical understanding within their art and architecture. He explores the stories of groups marginalized by Eurocentric ideologies. Ashar chats about his love for the cosmos, working to implement new pedagogical methods in the classroom, sustainable curatorial projects and managing the Ecologies in Practice podcast (launching this Fall)!

Here are links to the curatorial projects: In the Heart of the Bronze: A Liu Shiming Experience and of many worlds in this world (featured at Western’s artLAB Gallery!) 

Recorded on September 17, 2024.

Produced by Maria Khan.

Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ (Produced by White Hot).

 

#TheScoopOnSOGS | President (Cherin Chung)

In this installment of the three-part #TheScoopOnSOGS miniseries, host Liam Clifford is joined by Cherin Chung, a PhD Candidate in Western's Department of French who currently serves as the President of the Society of Graduate Students (SOGS). Listen to this episode to learn about Cherin's research, background, and roles at SOGS, as well as what she enjoys about being a student leader.

If you would like to learn more or get involved, check out sogs.ca and follow SOGS on Instagram @westernsogs! To get in touch with Cherin, you can contact her by email (president@sogs.ca) or follow her personal Instagram @cherinchung.

Recorded on August 27, 2024.

Produced by Anthony Cruz.

Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ (Produced by White Hot).

475 | Fat in Flight: The Role of Omega-3 Fatty Acids in Migratory Shorebird Energetics and Thermoregulation

This week, hosts Garth Casbourn and Riya Sidhu are joined by Kevin Young, a PhD Candidate in Western's Department of Biology. Kevin researches how the omega-3 fats in the diets of migratory shorebirds help them regulate their body temperature and save energy during their long journeys. Listen to learn about some of the amazing avian research happening at Western!

 

Recorded on September 10, 2024.

Produced by Anthony Cruz.

Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ (Produced by White Hot).

#TheScoopOnSOGS | Vice-President Finance (Evan Sauve)

In this installment of the three-part #TheScoopOnSOGS miniseries, host Liam Clifford is joined by Evan Sauve, a PhD Candidate in Western's Department of Economics who currently serves as the Vice-President Finance at the Society of Graduate Students (SOGS). Listen to this episode to learn about Evan's research, background, and roles at SOGS, as well as what Evan enjoys about being a student leader.

Follow Evan on Instagram, @EvanSauve_SOGS!

Recorded on August 20, 2024.

Produced by Anthony Cruz.

Theme song provided by https://freebeats.io/ (Produced by White Hot).